Swede

Daily Thing of Beauty: Bleeding Hearts

 

Spring perennials in the flowerbeds are now coming into full bloom with the ornamental trees.  Irises are blooming, and this Bleeding Heart plant. 

Lots to love here.

Summer

Photo: Swede 

Daily Thing of Beauty: I'm a Fickle Lover

 

I'm admittedly fickle.  Every day I have a new love.

Today I'm in love with our ornamental flowering Peach tree in the front yard.   Cobwebs and all.  Tomorrow, it will be a new love.

Summer

Photo: Swede

Gardening: Yoshinos in Full Glory

 

This week is Yoshino week.  They are in their full glory.

The buds ready to burst open.

White with pale pink.  So delicate.

Now fully open.

Like all flowers, I wish they would stay and last longer.

From a distance, they look like little puffs of popcorn.

Hope you are having a beautiful week.

Summer

Photos: Swede 

Gardening: Spring Flowers with Rain

 

Our Easter Sunday today was cold and rainy.  Between showers I went out and took some photos of the blooming shrubs.

This lovely gal is a peach Quince.  Has tears all over her face.

In my garden, I have red Quince and peach ones.  Probaby have about 10-12 of these peach ones.  I really love how delicate the blooms are and look forward to seeing them each spring.

Hope you enjoyed your day even if you also had rain.

Summer

Photos: Swede 

Autumn Collages

 

I have been very bad about blogging on a frequent basis lately, in a slump.  Today, I thought I would share some photos of fall at our house. I made a couple collages.

I wanted to catch our Autumn Glory maple before the leaves fell.  We have two in the front yard that were a housewarming gift from my brother.

He even planted them in the ground for us. We also had one in the backyard but it died this spring.

I have two pots of Mums on the front porch. Here is one of them. 

This is the second set of Mums in those pots this year.  The first goldenrod colored ones I put out in late August when the nursery got them in.  After they bloomed, I put them in the backyard and got more for the front porch but in a different color - rust.

The Zinnias are still blooming - love the color of the one above. We can usually get to Thanksgiving week before having a heavy enough frost to do all the plants in for the year. So far, only a light frost.

Hope you have fall color to enjoy at your house.

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Gardening: Autumn Blooms of the Zinnia Sisters

 

These three Zinnia sisters asked to have their portraits taken when I was weeding the bed today. Lovely ladies showing their true beauty.

Bright pink perfection.

Golden melon. Great color for a ball gown.

Miss coral.

They all come up as volunteers from seed each year. I don't deadhead them or pick them so I get more seeds and more lovelies the following year.  They are Mr. Swede's favorite flower.

September and October are the best flower months here. With fresh rain water and cooler temps all the flowers are at their peak.

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Paris: Gardens at Notre Dame

 

In the front corner of the Notre Dame property is this small Rose garden.

Maybe the angels in the cathedral watch over them because they were totally bug free, had healthy glossy leaves and fabulous blooms.

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Paris: Gardeners' Love for the Foxglove

 

I couldn't help but notice nearly every park, church and private garden in Paris had Foxglove plants blooming.  Parisian gardeners certainly have a love affair with Foxgloves [Digitalis]. Their Parks Department must plant thousands of them.

This is in the rear garden of Notre Dame. The beds wrap around the perimeter.

These beds and monument are inside a fenced area on the back side of the cathedral.

Closer look at the Foxgloves.

Very nice.

White ones.

Another view of the Notre Dame flower garden.

These flower beds are in the Tuileries Gardens.

That roofline view has been there for a long time. The light in these photos is not great as it was getting ready to rain.

It must take a large staff to maintain all the flower gardens, parks and monument sites in Paris city limits.

Pretty, pretty, pretty.

I can understand why Parisians love their parks. The density of residential housing is high so people don't own individual homes like we do with their own yards.  The only place to go to get out of the house is to the public parks, museums, etc., so they make them very beautiful.

Summer

Photos: Swede

Gardening: Daily Dose of Beauty

 

Today's beauty was a surprise this morning in the garden. The Blackberry Lily had opened.  It is not in the Blackberry fruit family; it got that name from the black seed it produces in the fall that looks just like a ripe Blackberry. It's real name is Iris Domestica in the Belamcanda Chinensis family. Some people call them Leopard Lilies because of their spots. 

I think they look more like Orchids than Lilies due to their tall scapes.

Mother Nature's perfection is awesome.

For those of you who want to know what the plant looks like in the ground, this is for you.  It does resemble an Iris except the leaves are finer.  And, it produces lots of babies from the seeds.  I particularly like the color of this plant's delicate bloom.

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Gardening: Daily Dose of Beauty

 

For today's daily thing of beauty, a pink Gladiolus.

Love the drops of water I caught in this photo.

Summer

Photo Credit: Swede

 

Fourth of July: Red, White and Don't Be Blue

 

Happy Birthday, America. Thanks for being the new world that was here for my ancestors who came in the late 1600's. Doing my research, I found children born in what is now Pennsylvania in 1700.  I'm so glad they had the courage to sail and leave their native land.  They were here at least 100 years before we became the United States. That's what I call courage to gain freedom.

And, Happy Anniversary to the blog Swede who is two years old today. I looked through the photos and made four collages in red, white and blue. First one with the three colors combined and then one in each color.

Here's the red:

Then here is a white collage:

And a blue:

Have a fun and safe time celebrating our American history.  I can't imagine what our lives would be like if the USA didn't exist by some other course of direction in our history.

Summer

Photos: Swede

Sources:  Bunting: www.independence-bunting.com

Wooden stick flags: Target

 

Gardening: Hot Stuff

 

Collage of bright pinks in the yard. Today's daily dose of beauty. It was well over 100 degrees today so the plants are really suffering.

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Gardening: Our Backyard in Summer

 

For those of you who asked for wider angle photos of our yard instead of individual close-up flower shots that I enjoy doing, this is for you.

This is the arbor near the smaller back patio. The Black-Eyed Susans all came up from seed.  Last year I had white Moonflowers on the arbor but they are in the front yard this year. We had a light winter so most of the hanging baskets didn't die. I have 23 hanging baskets in the yard. This is nine of them. We are heading into high 90-100 degree tempertures so the plants will suffer heat stress until September/October.

Here is a little wider view of the flowerbed off the small patio section. Since all the plants don't bloom at the same time, the Daylilies, Irises and Peonies have already bloomed and are gone. There are two sections of the patio which I call small and large. All flatwork is Crab Orchard stone from a quarry.  It has lots of colors in it especially when it is wet -- peaches, pinks, lavenders, blues, golds, etc.  I am not going to show all of the yard sections today. There are the beds up close to the patios and fountain, the left and right side yards, the front yard and inner and outer rear back sections. You will not see any of the front, right side nor inner/outer rear back sections today. Save that for another post. 

Here are more hanging baskets on a vintage hotel coat rack from Pennsylvania made of steel and iron.  There is a brass Eagle on the top as a finial but I keep it in the house. It needs to be power sanded and repainted but I keep putting that project off as well as power washing the patios.

This trough is off the family room window. It is one of five windowboxes. Now that I know the pink plant will grow in the shade, I will add more of those next year in other colors. The coco mat trough is 48" wide and 12" deep and 12" across.  I like the ones that can hold alot of dirt.   

 
On the left side of the house, this is a 47 foot long raised brick bed with mostly Coneflowers, Dragonwing Begonias and Asiatic Lilies. There are two raised beds on the left side of the house.  This is the taller one.

In this photo you get a better view of how long it is.  We added all the hardscape to the yard.  Since it was new construction, there was nothing but swamp on the left side of the house, no sidewalks, patios, bricked beds, etc.  If you tried to walk there you would get ankle deep in mud.  Adding the sidewalk and beds made the land usable.  Underneath all of this is a drainage system Mr. Swede installed to get all storm water runoff from the front of the house to the rear ditch.

On the left side of the house, this is the shorter raised bed. It is 43 feet long with Iris, Roses, Creeping Jenny, Dwarf Crepe Myrtles and a pot of red Petunias.

This is the raised brick bed that touches the North side of the house which raises Hydrangeas, Hostas, Annabelles and Columbine.

In addition to the flowerbeds, I have containers all around the patios, walkways and underneath shrubs.

These Impatiens are in a pot underneath the Snowball shrubs. I like placing these as surprises underneath shrubs and trees where the flowers don't like growing in the ground. 

Many flowerpots around.

Pot of Petunias.

Cupids planter pot. Pink tall Glads are in full bloom.

There is a pot underneath these Petunias that you can't see.

Pots near the back porch with Ferns.

 

 White Dragonwing Begonias with a metal spiral even though they don't really climb.  I just like the metal forms.

Black-eyed Susans really put on a color show. And I don't like the color yellow.  But I let these live in my yard since the bloom lasts a long time.

A different view of the beds close to the large patio.

It always amazes me the difference in the beds from year to year how they change on their own with different plants spreading or seeding.  I haven't had to buy Impatiens for years as they always come back from seed.

This bed behind the fountain has lots of Impatiens from seeds.  I've added red Dragonwing Begonias every few feet.  By October they will be huge.

Daylilies, although they don't last long, are easy to grow and give great pleasure.  Especially the ones that are six inches across.

I have to admit that I never planned any of the beds.  If I was at a nursery and saw something I liked, I brought it home and found some empty dirt to place it in the ground. 

Some pink Hydrangeas under the Yoshino Cherry tree getting shade.

Hope you liked the haphazard garden tour.  I still feel lucky to have ground to get my hands dirty in.  Will be a sad day when I can no longer do that. So I can't complain about all the work it takes to maintain this. Mr. Swede [known fondly as my Yard Boy and sometimes my Water Boy] helps out a great deal when he is home. He is mainly in charge of digging big holes, watering and fertilizing. He was not a gardener when we got married 20 years ago but he has come a long way. His idea of a flowerbed was to fill it with gravel!  He refuses to pull weeds.  Why is that always the woman's job?

And, yes, I have weeds.

Summer

Photos: Swede

Gardening: Black Velvet Iris

 

This is for Mr. Swede who is in San Francisco this Easter weekend and missed the opening of Black Velvet.

All the Iris plants are in full bloom now.

Summer

Photo: Swede

 

Gardening: A Nursery Rhyme

 

Probably my favorite nursery rhyme as a child was The Little Red Hen. This rhyme teaches independence in doing things yourself and other virtues to childen.  The book has been illustrated and rewitten many times.  I'm not sure there was an original author to credit.  I have had to be The Little Red Hen on many occasions during my adult lifetime.  Mr. Swede became very familiar with the book and its morale after we married.  He did not know the book as a child.  I highly recommend you find the book and read it, even though you are not three any longer so you understand this post and read it to your children or grandchildren.

Once upon a time The Little Red Hen had a beautiful Weeping Peach tree in her yard.

 
The Little Red Hen went to the nursery, purchased the tree, lugged it home and planted it all by herself.  The tree grew and grew and grew into The Little Red Hen's favorite tree.  She LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the tree each Spring when it bloomed.

Then a very nasty bad fungus came and killed the beautiful tree. 

The Little Red Hen was SAD, SAD, SAD.

So as the nursery rhyme goes, The Little Red Hen asks for help removing the tree.

No, said the strong Ox.

No, said the mighty Horse.

No, said the helpful Cow.

So, The Little Red Hen says, "I will do it myself".  And she did. She sawed off all the dead branches and drug them to the street for garbage pick up. Did I mention how huge those limbs were????

Who will help me take down the seven foot trunk? 

Not I, said the strong Ox.

I will use my chainsaw said the nice neighbor if you will help me cut down my Pine tree limbs. And, he did. [I don't think that was an even exchange on my part!]

Who will help me take out the big stump?, said The Little Red Hen. 

Not I, said the strong Ox. Nor the Horse, nor the Cow [you get the rhyme  by now].

"So I will do it myself", said The Little Red Hen.  And she did.

It had roots to China.

Now I have to fill in the hole. It doesn't look it from this view, but it is about 10" deep.

Here is another photo of the stump for Mr. Swede who is in Taipei today.

I have been killing myself in the yard the past two weekends.  Went to the nursery and got 12 flats of annuals and 5 shrubs, so off to fill the hole and do some planting.  Hope you are having fun!

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Daily Beauty: Love These Terms

 

Her name is No Down Payment.  Great terms. Lovely lady.

Bearded Iris. Usually blooms in May -- wayyyyyyyyy early this year.

Love the apricot colored ruffles.  Reminds me of organdy fabric.

Deliciously beautiful.

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Beauty in the Garden: Iris

 

This week's surprise in the garden.

Miss Raspberry Ruffles.  This is the earliest it has ever bloomed.

Bearded Iris.

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

 

Daily Beauty: Garden Surprise Today

 

Looking from my kitchen window into the garden this morning, I couldn't imagine what was purple in the back flowerbed.  So I had to go investigate. 

What a surprise! This must be the earliest the Iris have ever bloomed.

How nice there is this promise of more to come.

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Daily Dose of Beauty: Blue Sky and Camellias

 

As an original content blogger, I try to capture something beautiful every day to enrich life for myself and others. Today's photo captures an almost cloudless sky as a background to the red Camellias in my raised flowerbed. The angled shot up towards the sky worked out nicely.

I'm working in the flowerbeds and reworking the potted containers.  Mr. Swede helped me bring home from Lowe's a truckload of soil conditioners and mulch and he repotted the Kimberly Queen ferns on the patio.  Hope you are enjoying a nice Spring weekend.

Summer

Photo: Swede

Daily Beauty: Easter Wreath

 

I got ahead of a holiday for once. Usually I am way behind. Two weeks ago, I decided to put an Easter wreath on the door and plant Pansies in the containers.  With Easter more than a month away in April, I had more time to enjoy my work.

Lots of purples and only a little of yellow since it is not a color I enjoy.

Here is a close up so you can see the Easter eggs and other details.  The purple Clematis garland worked out wonderfully for this wreath. All supplies from Michael's.

I always have plants in the two containers on the front pillars. I filled these with Pansies which will last until June when I replace them with Summer flowers.

And here is another container on the side of the house near the garage.

Here is a sweet lilac colored Pansey face for you.

And a cute white and purple one.

I hope you all are getting some Spring weather where you are by now.

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Daily Thing of Beauty: Okame Cherry Trees

 

We planted two Okame Cherry trees in the greenbelt behind our house probably 9/10 years ago.  They are the first Cherry trees to bloom in the spring. Our Yoshino Cherries come afterwards.

The blossoms only last a week before all the petals fall to the ground. A very short bloom time, so I have to capture them quickly.

Very delicate pale pink blossoms which appear before the tree leafs out.

Summer

Photos: Swede 

 

Daily Beauty: Conversation With Mother Nature

 

Dear Mother Nature:  Thank you for the brown fur coat that kept me warm all winter.

It kept the chilly winds away.

And protected me from the cold dark nights.

You have brought us Spring weather and the time has come.

It is time for me to take my furry brown jacket off.

And show the world what hides inside. I will lay the brown stole on the bench when the dance begins.

I want to wear my pretty pink dress.

My pretty pink ballerina dress.

I will show my pure beauty.

And be the fairest princess at the ball.

In such a lovely gown.

Alas, the prince has asked me to dance while the orchestra plays The Miracle of Life.

Summer

Photo Credits: Swede: Tulip Magnolias

 

Daily Thing of Beauty: The Wait To Become Beautiful

 

Today as a bud, I am full of hope.

Full of desire and expectation.

Waiting, waiting, waiting ---

Preparing for my glorious day.

My day will arrive when I show my true beauty.

And as I age gracefully, I will become this - - -

Grown up and full of eloquent style.

Summer

Photo: Swede: Camellia Japonica 'Kramer's Supreme' blooms in my garden throughout February.

 

Daily Thing of Beauty: Forsythia

 

The true sign of Spring - Forsythia.  The first flowers are popping out now.

Love to Mr. Swede in Hawaii today. Forsythia is his favorite spring shrub as they remind him of his childhood in Connecticut. Me, No.  Yellow is not my color.

Summer

Photo: Swede

 

Gardens: Gathering the Squash

 

I like white pumpkins in the fall but my choice for squash are these blue/green ones.

I put these on my foyer console table, but I like them on a mantel also. Wire basket with tray for potted plants is from Hobby Lobby.  I also like the greenish/gray shade of the metal. The winter Hubbard squash last for months so you can delay cooking them and enjoy decorating with them first.

Summer

Photos: Swede  

 

Daily Thing of Beauty: Looking Mighty Fine in Orange

 

The color orange: Beauty captured in the butterfly visit.

 

Summer

Photo: Swede

Gardens: What's Blooming Today in My Garden

 

For today's dose of beauty, I made a collage of what was blooming in the yard this afternoon.  We are probably a week to 10 days from a freeze that will end it all.

Black-eyed Susan, Zinnias, Pink Fairy Roses and Million Bells.

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Gardens: Salmon Geranium

 

Today's daily dose of beauty is my hanging basket of Geraniums.

I love the vibrant salmon or coral color of this Geranium.  The tag says it is a "Classic Dark Salmon Noblesse Zonal Geranium".  She, of course, is loving the cooler weather and producing more blooms than in summer.  I am going to take her inside and try to winter her over.  My Mom grew Geraniums indoors so I am going to try it as the plant will freeze in the next two weeks.

Summer

Photo: Swede

 

Gardens: The Last Rose Before Winter

 

Today's Daily Thing of Beauty:  As the temperatures drop, the days remaining to enjoy the Roses are becoming few.

The last of the buds are opening.

Such perfection.

And here Miss Betty Boop Rose is showing her beautiful face.  I will miss her all winter long.

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Gardens: Fall Color

 

Today's Daily Dose of Beauty:  Zinnias in fall colors - oranges, reds, golds and yellows.

Summer

Photo: Swede

Gardens: Dragonwing Begonias in Autumn

 

Today's daily dose of beauty.

When the weather cools in October the Dragonwing Begonias are at their best. This container has only three plants in it.  At its fullest, the Begonias will be about five feet wide and about 30 inches tall.  Dragonwings are so easy to grow and provide full bloom all season with very little shedding. It certainly makes the top 10 list of favorite annuals.

 

Around the fountain and patio, I have four containers this size of coral Dragonwings, two of white Dragonwings and four concrete planters of coral Dragonwings mixed with Blue Daze.  They all put on a beautiful display for the backyard viewable from the covered porch as well as inside the house.  I sure hate to see frost hit them as they just melt.

Summer

Photo: Swede

 

Gardens: Daily Dose of Beauty - Zinnias

 

Miss Orange Zinnia is very happy with the new cool fall weather.

She looks delightful. I captured her when I came home for lunch today. She is so pretty she makes you smile. I am savoring her colorful gift to the world as all the flowers will be gone at the first frost right around Thanksgiving time -- about four weeks.

Summer

Photo: Swede

 

Gardens: White Moonflower

 

Gnat -- will you quit buggin' me!!

Today's daily dose of beauty.

Summer

Photo: Swede

 

Gardening: Today's Daily Dose of Beauty

 

Tropical Hibiscus plants are still blooming strong even in the cooler weather.

Summer

Photo: Swede

Fall Garden: Reblooming Irises - Lovely Ladies in Autumn

 

Reblooming Iris plants bring such delight because they are so unexpected in autumn. I only buy the reblooming variety at the Iris society plant sale in August so I can get my double thrill for the year. There are so many new colors to choose from in the rebloomers I just can't go back to the old variety.

These purple lovely ladies wearing their ruffles are such a delight. Dressed for a party.

Have a wonderful week.

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Gardening: That Dynamite Look

 

For the daily capture of beauty - -

 
Red Crepe Myrtle 'Dynamite' variety still going strong.

Thanks to Mr. Swede who dug the huge holes to plant these this summer. Very showy shrubs put out a lot of color in the summer heat.

Best wishes,

Summer

Photo: Swede

 

Gardening with White: Autumn Surprise

 

Today's beauty captured is a white surprise.

My Tangerine Crossvine looked like it was covered in white buds but it blooms in the spring. I went out to investigate and found my arbor covered with Autumn Clematis.  I didn't plant it there.  Such a mystery. My neighbor has one on his fence about 25 feet away.  I don't think it came from his vine.  I've had this arbor for 13 years always having my Crossvine on it.

 
A tiny root of the vine must have been in the pot from the nursery when I planted the Crossvine.  It has taken this long to grow tall.

 
I welcome this kind of surprise.

 
Other white beauties in my yard this week includes this pot of White Dragonwing Begonias.  I plant annuals in big pots and put them in the flowerbeds where they won't grow in the ground due to bad soil, too much or too little water.  My big pots of Impatiens were eaten by deer last week so I can't show you those.

 
And, this white beauty. She has done well on her trellis by the garage door.  Tropical White Mandevilla.

It is almost time to think about big pots of Mums for the porches.  I probably can't find a white one.

All the best,

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Today's Daily Thing of Beauty

 

Today's thing of beauty is this succulent flower.  I planted a pot of various succulents this year but I overwatered them and a few died.

 
This small plant put out two long stems with this draping flower cluster on the end. The flower has lasted over two weeks.  I am enjoying its unusual shape.

 
I love finding such simply beautiful things in life.

 
I can't find the identification name tags that came with each plant to tell you what variety of plant this is. The one behind it with the wider leaves has not bloomed.

 
Just delightful.

 
The dusty blue-gray of the foliage is so nice with the pink flowers.

All the best,

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Gardening: Blackberry Lily

 

I'm leaving you with this sweet photo for the holiday weekend. Today's slice of beauty captures the Blackberry Lily which looks like an Orchid. But it is neither a Blackberry, Orchid nor Lily.  It is in the Iris family. Belamcanda chinensis - Iridaceae.  Just a slice of pure heaven. So easy to grow with no problems. The common name of Blackberry Lily comes from the seed pod which when opened looks like a ripe Blackberry. And those seeds make lots of new plants to love the next year.

 

 
So sweet.

 
This is the Blackberry looking seed pod that gives it its common name.

 

Everyone, have a fun but very safe holiday weekend.

Summer

Photo: Swede

 

Gardening: Cool Water Gardens in Summer

 

There isn't much more enjoyable in the heat of summer than a cool water garden. I love the splash of the water from a fountain and the colorful Water Lilies.  Peaceful, serene and fascinating.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 

 

 

 

 

Ahhhhhhhh. So cool.

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Gardening: Love of White - Thrill For A Moonflower

 

Moonflower: White Ipomoea Also Known as Evening Glory

[Did they have to make that botanical name so hard to pronounce?]

I am a cheap thrill.  It doesn't take much to excite me when it comes to beautiful flowers. So the story goes like this.  I was walking for exercise in the subdivision next to ours one evening when I came upon a house that had a huge vine climbing all over their brick mailbox structure.  The vine had HUGE white fragrant flowers all over it.  The sight was just heavenly.  I had never seen any vine like that.  When I got home I told my husband about the flowering vine that was so fabulous.  I said he had to walk up there and look at it -- that he would be amazed.  Well, he wasn't as thrilled as I was to leave his TV cop shows and walk up and look at somebody's mailbox.  Okay - he wasn't kicking and screaming, but just about.  I drug him up there a bit reluctantly.  He thought it was pretty cool.  I went home and Googled big white fragrant flower and finally found out what it was.  It was an annual that you had to plant from seed. It also said that it helps if you scratch the shell of the seed with a sharp object and soak them in water before planting them. 

 
I found the seed packets in the garden center about six weeks late this spring but decided to plant them anyway.  I planted five seeds near the arbor where I put my hanging baskets. The packet says the seed origin is Holland.

After a week all five of my seeds came up and started crawling up the arbor.  It takes another 60-90 days before the first flower arrives.

 
Woah!  Here she is.  I am thrilled. My first Moonflower.  Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you that they bloom at night. And the flower is all done with its lifecycle before noon the next day.  How sad.

 
The leaves are sort of heart shaped.  Planted in full sun the vine climbs very fast.   I grew up in a household where my Mom was a big gardener but she did not grow these so I discovered them late in life.

 
Above is the first bloom at the bottom of the vine.  My husband came inside from watering a few days ago and said there was some sweet smell in the air outside that he couldn't figure out what it was -- like a neighbor burning candles.  I ran outside and sure enough the flower was there. The bud is pretty also as it is tightly swirled and then when evening comes it slowly unfurls.

 
Here is tonight's flower at the very top of the arbor. Since it is facing upwards I can't get a photo of the face. I think you can see the tight swirled buds next to the flower.

 
From now until frost I will have a lot more thrills.  Hummmmm, next year -- I wonder how many vines a woman can have.

 
 

Have a lovely weekend.

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Gardening: Hibiscus Lovely Queens of the Summer Garden

 

My Hibiscus plants, being tropical, seem to be thriving now.  Here are a few photos of the lovely ladies from this weekend.

 

 

 

 

 
 

Here are a couple I did on white and black backgrounds. 

 

 

  
 

  
 

 

All gone.

I am seriously considering digging them up this fall and trying to winter them over inside the house.  It just kills me to think of losing these plants as I love their blossoms so much.

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Gardening: Perfection Found in Summer Zinnias

 

What is blooming in this summer heat?  Mother Nature has her paint box out creating beauty. What did she make?  Zinnias. They need no introduction. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the best,

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Gardening: Love of White

 

Each year I plant a Mandevilla vine on a metal support near my garage door.  For the past few years, I have chosen a white one.  In previous years, I have had cherry red ones and other pink ones in the backyard.  But there is just something pure about the white one and very cooling in the heat of the summer.

 
Right now it doesn't have alot of blooms but in October it will really flush out.

 
So pure.  

  
I find the Mandevilla very easy to grow with no pest problems.

 
This photo I took last year.

 
I have never tried to winter them over but sure hate to see them die each year.

 

Here is the planter that is in front of the vine.

 

There are three other plants in this container, but the Petunias sort of took over.

 
I also grow P.G. Hydrangeas. This one has some dirt on it from splashing irrigation.

 
Here is a bigger grouping of them on a plant.

 
I also have some white Dragon Wing Begonias in a pot with a wire support, although they don't climb.  At the time I had extra Begonias to find a home for and I didn't have an extra vine.

 
Here are more of the white Begonias growing in a raised bed.

 
And I still have a few white Coneflowers blooming.

Hope you are staying cool.

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Gardening: The Cool Colors of White and Green

 

In this awful heat, I am wondering if I stare at my Hosta plants long enough if their cool green and white will cool me off.  We are still in the high 90's and running the A/C and sprinklers nonstop.

 
I love the white tips on this one.

 
Love the bluish green on this one.  If they come with a name tag, I keep them, but I didn't want to dig in the dirt to find out their names today.

 
The majority of my Hostas have white blooms.  A few have lavender.

 

It's been a good year so far. The deer that come up the back ditch have only eaten a few plants.  Hostas are one of their favorite meals.

 
This Hosta is huge. It must have liked the chicken manure I gave it this spring.

 
Awe!  I feel cooler. But maybe someone lowered the thermostat on the air conditioner!

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Gardening: Pink Roses

 

Today's pretty picture is this one of pink Fairy Roses draped over the brick wall of the back patio.

 

Enjoy.

Summer

Photo: Swede

Gardening: Flower Beauty

 

Today's pretty picture is a Hibiscus bud just opening up, or untwisting as they do, to unfurl.  When their lives are over, they also twist back up as they close.  So delightful to watch the process but so sad knowing they are tropical annuals here and cannot live through the winter. A short lifecycle that must be captured, absorbed and cherished.

 

And below, here it is almost fully opened later in the afternoon sun. I love how the tissue of the petals' colors change with the sun's heat from golden to yellows and from redish watermelon to deep pinks.

 

All the best to you.

Summer

Photo: Swede

Gardening: More Love of White

 

 

Now that reblooming Iris plants are available in a wider range of colors, I only buy the reblooming type when I want a new color so that I get two events of beauty.  The local Iris Society has an Iris sale each August and you can get one for a few dollars.  My rebloomers provide their beauty in early April and again in early October.  This year I had one who had her timetable confused and bloomed in July. Most likely she will be back on schedule next spring. This might be "Immortality" but I don't know for sure since I have lost the tag. She is lovely. To have Irises bloom in the fall is a wonderful treat.

 

Summer

Photo Credit: Swede  

Gardening: Love of White

 

Today's pretty picture is a bee enjoying lunch on a white Coneflower in my flowerbed. I grow white and purple Coneflowers. I tried growing the new Sunset orange variety but they all died. Brown thumb.

 

As much as it distresses me, I have had to start using my logo on my photos after I found my original images, although cropped, on a U.K. website.  I hope you can still enjoy the photo content while I try to slow the thieves down a bit.

Summer

Photo: Swede

Gardening: Day in the Life of a Hibiscus Flower

 

Continuing my quest to find something of beauty each day of my life, I want to share with you one day of beauty provided by Mother Nature with her Hibiscus flower.  In the morning the bud opened to reveal this fabulous color I am calling Hawaiian Punch since it reminds me of the color of that drink we had as kids.

 

Such a luscious color.  By late afternoon with a day in the hot sun, the edges turned golden yellow and became this glorious perfection.

 

Just amazingly beautiful.  When I went to look at it in the evening, it had closed.

 

Its lifecycle complete.  Such a gift it gave me.  I am so glad I captured it on film to enjoy forever. I hope you enjoyed it too.

Summer

Photo: Swede

I regret that I have to mark my photos but I am seeing much of my original work on other people's blogs with no credit.  I am an original content blogger and don't post other people's work.  I respect prior written permission and due credit.